Chris Madison has deep baseball roots in the area, as he played at Western Albemarle High School and was involved in local American Legion ball, in addition to playing in college at Southern Virginia and Ferrum, for the Charlottesville Tom Sox in the Valley League and in the Rockingham County Baseball League for the Elkton Blue Sox.
“I played in 2014 and 2015. Some of the best summers of my life as a college kid,” he wrote to the AFP of his time in the RCBL, when he was an All-Star.
Now it is another sport – softball – that is bringing the Charlottesville native back to Virginia after several years in Wisconsin.
Madison was recently named the head softball coach at Division III EMU in Harrisonburg. He takes over for JD McCurdy, who guided the Royals for 23 seasons.
McCurdy, a Turner Ashby High School grad, also played in the RCBL – he is in that league’s Hall of Fame after starring as a first baseman for the Bridgewater Reds for many years.
Madison, who grew up in Crozet, hopes to connect at some point with McCurdy.
“I have a lot of respect for the time, over 20 years, JD put into this program, but the transition has been incredibly busy. Right now, 100 percent of my energy is dedicated to evaluating our current roster and preparing for the upcoming season,” Madison noted.
Storied past
The EMU softball history includes another coach with Hall of Fame ties.
Peggy Kellers, who played for the famed Connecticut-based Raybestos Brakettes from 1964-1974, went into the USA Softball Hall of Fame in Oklahoma in 1986.
She was part of seven national title teams with the Brakettes, and after coaching at EMU from 1980-1985, she was the University of Virginia softball coach from 1993-1997, with a record of 123-97, winning ACC Coach of the Year honors in 1994.
Madison returns to the area after eight years in the Upper Midwest.
“I was local until 2018, when I left to take an assistant coaching position at Lakeland University,” he noted of that school in Wisconsin.
He most recently was the director of operations for Impact Sports Academy West in Wisconsin from 2023-2025, and he worked with several softball programs while he was there.
He was the head coach of the premier 16U Royals team and was an assistant coach at New Richmond High, which won its first regional title since 1995.
New face in Park View
“We are excited to welcome Chris Madison to EMU and to the leadership of our softball program,” EMU athletics director Carrier Bert said on the school website. “Chris brings a clear vision for where this program can go and, importantly, the organization, competitiveness, and commitment to the daily work needed to get there. He has high expectations for the team and a strong desire to build a program that is prepared to compete for the ODAC tournament while making the most of the resources and opportunities in front of us.”
Bert continued, “Chris also understands that Division III athletics is about more than what happens on the field. His approach to communication, practice preparation, and leadership reflects a genuine respect for our student-athletes as whole people, while still challenging them to grow and perform at a high level. His passion for EMU, willingness to listen, and experience as a former student athlete will serve him well as he builds relationships and moves the program forward. We are confident Chris’s experience in athletic facility operations and softball coaching across a range of age levels provides a strong foundation for him to lead our Royals and move the program forward.”
“It’s a complete full circle moment for me,” Madison noted. “Growing up in Crozet and playing in Virginia, this area has shaped who I am as a person and a coach. To have the opportunity to return home and lead the softball program at EMU is an incredible honor. The biggest challenge in any transition is establishing your culture and standard in a short amount of time. What excites me the most is the strong alignment and support surrounding EMU athletics.
Among Madison’s teammates with Elkton in the RCBL were:
- Terrell Thompson, recently named the head baseball coach at the Miller School of Albemarle. He takes over for Billy Wagner, the former MLB closer who went into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2025. When Madison was the head coach at the Covenant School, he faced Thompson, who was then a coach at Fishburne.
- Brandon Withers, who pitched at JMU and was drafted in 2017 by Oakland.
- Ty McFarland, the former Turner Ashby standout who was drafted out of JMU by the New York Yankees in 2014.
Madison was teammates with American Legion Post 74 with Rashad Talley, who was the head coach at Blue Ridge School from 2018-2019.
High school teammates of Madison who competed in college were:
- Dillon Via (baseball at Bridgewater)
- Mitchell Parks (football at Bridgewater)
- Scott Wakely (golf at Bridgewater)
- Daniel Kuzjack (football at William & Mary)
- Ryan Hughes (baseball at Randolph-Macon)
Madison and Via both threw two no-hitters as seniors in 2010 at Western Albemarle.
Another high school teammate was Chris Blackwell, who recently led Peachtree 9U to a Southeast regional title and a berth in the Babe Ruth World Series. Madison’s mother has been involved in the Peachtree program for more than 30 years.
One of Madison’s former players at Lakeland was Nathan Hemmerling, who played indy baseball with Idaho Falls and Long Beach after pitching at California Baptist. He was 9-0 this season for Long Beach.
Wes Arrington, who played for Madison at Covenant, pitched at Lynchburg, transferred to Virginia and is now a graduate assistant with the Cavaliers.
Mason Mitchell, who played at Covenant, was part of the coaching staff with Madison in Wisconsin.
The top hitter for EMU softball in 2026 was junior Meaghan Dean, who batted .381 with a team-high nine homers. She is from Madison.
Junior Braxten Jones, from Elkton and Spotswood High School, hit .295.
The Royals were 6-28 overall and 2-18 in the ODAC last season.
Share
David Driver
